My One-Year Anniversary

It’s been one year since I launched my first book of poetry, The Greyness of Good, and I have learned so much! In no particular order…

I learned how hard it is to sell a book – and not just getting people to like my book but getting them to buy it has turned out to be an unexpectedly difficult task. Out of all the minutes wasted in our daily lives, who knew that the ones saved clicking on a webpage and ordering a book would be the most protected?

I learned how hard it is to cut through the noise to get people’s attention, including my own. I am spending more time scrolling on social media and ignoring most content but turn around and expect someone to pick my poems out of the thousands (tens of thousands!) available at any given time. Pot, kettle, black.

I also learned how hard it is to make money from poetry. Show me a rich poet and I will show you a camel that can go through the eye of a needle! With that said, I am floored when people tell me that they have been moved by my poetry and not critics, but friends and strangers who don’t read poetry – this is what keeps me going.

Most importantly, I have learned to let go. It took many decades, but I can finally write freely, I write for no one in particular, I just write, and I love it, and I’m so excited about my second book, which is coming out in the fall of 2026.

Below is my favourite poem from The Greyness of Good, which is on page 80 of my book, in case you haven’t bought it yet (you should!).

The Meaning of Life By Ramiro Mora

I would rather be cut by a knife
Which was sharpened for hours
Than an anonymous rusted blade
Found in a basement

I would rather words that cut deep
To gash at my core
Where my blood is black
Than surface mutterings
Which are casually said
In union halls

I would rather die
Suffocating in a custom-made ivory box
Than by a wayward bullet
Skinned and worn by dozens
Cooked and served for hundreds
Boiled and drank by thousands
Than have my limp body
Thrown in a pit
Or left in a cave
Without a thought

Because even in death
Your life must have meaning